Remember the post I wrote about the rainy season in Cyprus? Well, mold seems to be a prevalent problem in homes and flats across Cyprus.

It all started when we were out of town for a long weekend over Thanksgiving. We came back to an apartment smelling old and musty. But it wasn’t until I saw Linus playing behind a bookshelf that I noticed the wall (floor to ceiling) was covered in mold spores!

Our landlady had a hipster dressed contractor come and clean the walls and windows. He recommended that we open the blinds, windows, and shutters (on the outside of the building) everyday to circulate the air – even when it is wet and rainy outside.

I did as he suggested, and the mold just kept coming back. It was literally raining every night for almost a month. How was one supposed to remove the humidity in the air?

The recurrence of mold was inevitable. Rather than contacting the landlord or contractor again about the recurring mold, I decided to make a bleach/water solution from an empty spray bottle and do the cleaning myself.

It worked for awhile. But then a couple weekends ago, Prof noticed that some of the wall tiles (in the kids’ bathroom) were coming unbuckled from the wall. I thought, “What?!!!” Seriously?”

So our landlady contacted the contractor again. We had scheduled for a time to have him come and take a look. But he was a no show on the day we agreed. I called but his phone was either off or not in service. This was last Friday. And today, I am still waiting for him to take a look at the bathroom.

In the mean time, I just hope our kids are okay to take baths. It’s just a terrible stench that you can’t ignore when you walk anywhere near that bathroom.

Anyway, Prof’s colleague at work mentioned that mold is a problem, and we could help mitigate the spreading of mold in the following ways:

1. When you condensation on the window ledges, wipe it off. Maybe once a day. The more often, the better.

2. Open up the blinds, windows, and shutters everyday. Even if it is cold outside, it helps to circulate the air. Just be aware of the mosquitos still out there.

3. Use a mold spray that you can buy at Super Home Center or make your own concoction. Be diligent about spraying and wiping any mold you see on your walls and windows.